Third Time's the Charm
by Bay Alexison
Summary: Lust's first three dates with Jean Havoc.


**Author's Notes:** For fmasecretsanta over at Tumblr. For Tumblr user f-u-l-l-m-e-t-a-l, who wanted anything with Lust (and one of their OTPs being Lust/Havoc). Thanks to sonjajade for the excellent betaing!

For Envy, I have the pronouns they/them.

xxx

Knowing that Colonel Mustang was getting deeper into what the Homunculi had been up to, Lust had him transferred to Central Command thanks to some of her contacts. As predicted, he brought his team with him, and she planned on using one of his men as an informant. And she already thought of the perfect candidate for that.

One Saturday afternoon, she strolled around downtown Central City. Lust posed as a human, wearing clothing that covered her Ouroboros tattooas usual whenever she was outside so as to not attract any suspicion from anyone passing by her. As she walked, she paid close attention to the people around her, and Lust stopped when she spotted him stepping out of a liquor shop. Lust didn't hesitate to make her move by accidentally bumping into him. When their bodies collided, they fell down on the sidewalk at the same time.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, miss! I wasn't paying attention there," the man said after he climbed himself back up. He lent his hand to Lust and she grabbed it so that he could pull her up.

"It's all right, I didn't see where I was going either," Lust said, making herself smile.

"Well, let's agree it's both of our faults," he said and chuckled. "I'm Jean Havoc."

Lust shook his hand. "I'm Solaris," she replied, giving him an alias she'd been keeping in mind for just this occasion.

"Solaris, huh? That's a pretty name." Havoc's grin grew wider. "Say, I feel bad about bumping into you like that, so how about I treat you to some coffee?"

"Coffee sounds wonderful." Lust let Havoc loop his arm with hers and they left together.

The nearest cafe was only two blocks away. She and Havoc ordered their coffee and took their seats at the patios outside. During their conversation, Lust listened as he told her some stories of his childhood and what it was like to work in the military. No mention of Mustang, but Lust didn't expect him to say anything about him that quickly. She pretended to look remotely interested in those things. Two hours then passed and it was time for her to leave.

"I actually need to take care of something very soon, so I must be going," she said.

"That's all right. I really enjoyed our little date and I wouldn't mind having another one."

"Oh? So you consider this our first date?" Her response caused Havoc's face to blush.

"Might as well, right?" he said while rubbing the back of his head.

Lust giggled. "Where should our second date be at, then?"

"I know a place that serves the best pizzas in town, Mozzi's. We could meet there tomorrow for lunch."

"I'm fine with that."

Before Lust left, they exchanged phone numbers so they could keep in touch. She would have him gradually reveal to her more about Mustang.

xxx

The next day, they met at Mozzi's and it was packed **,** with almost all of the seats taken **.** The smell of oven baked meats, cheese, and seasonings overwhelmed her senses. When she took a bite of the pizza, the flavors mimicked the aroma of the restaurant. Lust thought it tasted fairly decent, even though Homunculi didn't need any food to survive. Again, she acted the part as Havoc's date.

Like before, they talked more about themselves with Lust making up Solaris's history. Solaris had moved from North City to Central City to become a theater actress, having no luck in landing a big role yet. Back home, her mother was a clerk in an inn while her father was a bartender. She liked dancing, desserts, and music **,** but was not a fan of sports and insects. Lust admitted it was fun thinking up all of that for her. As they dived more into their conversation, Lust thought maybe it was now a good time to have Havoc mention a bit more about Mustang.

"Havoc, you say your boss's name several times but not much about him," she asked him while Havoc was almost finished with his pizza.

"You mean Colonel Mustang? We had some drinks together, but I don't know too much of his life outside the office." He shrugged.

"What you know about his personal life, then?"

"Well, his parents died when he was young and was taken by an adopted family. He likes to go out sometimes; I saw him with a woman once or twice before."

"Oh, I see. How is he in the office?" Lust hoped he might slip up over what Mustang had been up to.

"He can be lazy with paperwork sometimes, actually. Usually Lt. Hawkeye is the one to keep him up on his toes!" In that instant, Havoc furrowed his eyebrows. "Hold up, are you interested in the chief?"

"No, no, it's not that. I'm just curious what kind of person he is."

Havoc sighed in relief and he chuckled. "Oh, that's good. You had me there for a minute."

Lust refrained from asking further about Mustang, not wanting to raise any doubts about her intentions. Instead they agreed to have another date and call each other to make arrangements.

The next time they met, she would definitely have him spit out everything. Third time's the charm, right?

xxx

Havoc wanted to take her dancing for their next date, so Lust made herself look extra presentable. She put extra effort into her makeup and dressed in a long sleeved silk gown. When Lust put on some earrings, she heard a voice behind her.

"Preparing for the big date, huh?"

Lust turned around and saw a cat sitting on her bed. She immediately recognized the creature to be Envy.

"Yes, and you're not invited."

"Aw, really?" Envy asked as they stretched, their tail sticking out. "It would be fun making your boyfriend miserable."

"He's not my boyfriend." Lust turned back to her mirror and put on some lipstick. "I need him for information on Colonel Mustang."

"I know, just it's been so long since you've gone all out like this." Envy managed a smirk, even as a cat. "Gregory was the last man you slept with, right?"

Lust glared at Envy. "It's best that you leave. Havoc will come pick me up soon."

"Fine, fine, I'll leave." Envy jumped on the edge of the window. "You better make this one count!" they said before leaping off to the nearest tree branch.

Lust let out a frustrated noise and closed the window shut. She was done getting ready, so she waited for Havoc to come at the location she asked him to pick her up at. Another fifteen minutes passed until he finally arrived.

They went to a dance club called Happy Rose. Tables ringed a dance floor that was in front of a stage where bands played throughout the night. An enormous crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, bathing the whole room in soft glow. She and Havoc danced for a long while before they headed to the bar to take a break. The bartender served them some daquiri, her date being the designated driver.

"I must say, you're a pretty decent dancer," Lust said after she downed her drink.

Havoc chuckled. "This is actually my first time taking a girl dancing, so I got some pointers beforehand."

"And they paid off." She leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. From the way Havoc grinned, he seemed to buy her act.

"What do you think of this place?" Havoc drank some of his daquiri. "Pretty swell, huh?"

"It's beautiful, indeed. Maybe we should come here more often."

She and Havoc continued to talk a while longer before going back out to the dance floor. After a few more songs, they decided to take another rest, leaving before the last dance played.

"I really had fun tonight," Havoc said, the both of them still inside his car.

"Me, too." As they gazed at one another, Lust realized she hadn't asked Havoc about Mustang yet. There was still some time tonight. "Do you want to come inside?"

Smirking, Havoc said, "Sure!"

After both of them got off the car, they went inside the tenant building and took the stairs to the second floor. Havoc followed her until they made it to her apartment, and once she opened the door they stepped inside the small living room. Lust let him sink down on the couch while she went to the refrigerator.

"I don't have any beer, so is water or coffee all right?"

"Water's fine," Havoc said. Lust poured two glasses from a frosty pitcher. She handed him a glass and joined him on the couch. "Thank you," he said and gulped the water. "This is a cozy place you got there."

"Thank you. Since I'm living alone, I don't need much stuff."

"Wouldn't the rent be expensive without a roommate?"

"Yes, but I'm able to manage." During their short silence, she noticed his eyes fixed on her chest. Lust wasn't surprised Havoc was enticed by her. "Havoc, you're starting at my breasts," she let him know. An embarrassed look stretched across Havoc's face.

"Sorry!" he said as he jerked his gaze back to the wall. "You must think I'm a creep."

"Don't worry about it." Lust smirked. "I'm amused for the most part."

"Really? I didn't expect you to say that, to be honest."

 _Now is your chance to ask him_ , an urgent voice reminded Lust. She said in a serious tone, "Actually, there's something important I want to ask you."

Havoc looked concern at first, but his face then softened. "Anything, Solaris."

"You sometimes mention vaguely about your military life, but not the more exciting stuff."

"What you mean by that?"

"Well, doing target practices and paperwork all day sound boring. I would've thought you worked on a few interesting cases with Mustang."

"Oh, um..." Havoc released a nervous chuckle. "Sure, sometimes we go check out what's going on, but usually someone else higher than us then handles the more tougher cases. Does that answer your question?"

"Not exactly, but it'll do I guess." Lust's eyes dropped on her lap and her lips twitched. Was he really that dense? If so, that meant she wasted all this time to get no answer. On the other hand, maybe he wasn't ready to talk about the more personal details of his work life yet. She wanted to believe it was the latter.

Their conversation drifted off awkwardly after that. Havoc yawned, which Lust was certain sounded fake.

"I'm pretty beat from all that dancing, so I think I'll head back home now." He climbed off the couch and moved toward the door. When his hand touched the doorknob, Lust's body tensed. She didn't want to lose him just yet—he could still be useful for her purposes— and needed to come up with something fast.

"Jean, wait!"

That caused him to turn around and face her. "Yes, Solaris?"

Her next action was spontaneous, but Lust went through with it. She pulled herself up, walked up to Havoc with her arms flung around his shoulders, and pressed her lips onto his. He gladly returned the kiss, his own arms wrapping around her waist. Lust didn't feel anything different towards him, but for certain she had him under her claws now. Their lips soon pulled apart so they could catch their breaths.

"I didn't know you're a good kisser," Havoc said, a funny smile on his face.

"That's for tonight." Lust started caressing his cheek with her finger. "And you'll soon learn I'm full of surprises." Much sooner than he would expect.

Still looking dazed, Havoc asked, "You want to go out for coffee again sometime soon?"

"I would love that."

"Great! All right, I'll call you soon!" He gave her a quick kiss on the lips, stepped outside the room, and closed the door. Once alone, a wicked grin pulled on the corner of Lust's lips and she went inside her bedroom to change.

She didn't get the information she wanted tonight, but that was all right. Another date with him would give her another chance to bait him. She wasn't going to give up that easily.


End file.
